Robinson on right end of freak goal as Spurs ease to win

Sunday 18 March 2007 08.22 EDT
First published on Sunday 18 March 2007 08.22 EDT

The following correction was made on Monday March 19 2007

In the article below the score was mistakenly given as 3-0 when it should have read 3-1. This has been corrected.

'That's why you're number one', roared the home crowd in praise of Paul Robinson, the unlikely scorer of Spurs' second goal. The Watford fans had contested the England goalkeeper's crown, but when Robinson's free-kick flew the length of the pitch, bounced in front of Ben Foster and into the net, it settled the argument. A painless 3-1 win - although Tottenham could have had more - Martin Jol's grin was as wide as Robinson's kick was long as Spurs advanced to sixth in the table.

'I said to Paul, "now you know how a striker feels",' said Jol, 'but he said it was his second goal.' Robinson previously scored for Leeds in a 2003 League Cup game against Swindon.

Jol had been determined to up the ante of this fixture, insisting it was more important than tomorrow's FA Cup replay against Chelsea. But by the calibre of his substitutes' bench, it was a battle cry that failed to convince. Jol wanted to win this match, but he did not want to risk any star players in doing so.

With 26 goals in their past eight games now, Tottenham's only Achilles' heel has been a shaky defence. Without a clean sheet since the reverse fixture at Vicarage Road in October, and missing Ledley King, Anthony Gardner and Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Watford hoped to profit.

The visitors began brightly, frequently pressing the Spurs end, but there was little danger in their final ball and Michael Dawson paired well with stand-in defender Ricardo Rocha. Going forward, Tottenham struggled at first to overturn their relegation-blighted opponents, the two strikers Mido and Jermain Defoe no substitute for Dimitar Berbatov's creativity and touch.

If a goal was to come from anywhere, it was Tottenham's midfield. And so it proved when Pascal Chimbonda floated a long cross overhead for Jermaine Jenas, who rose determinedly between two defenders to head home.

One up and Spurs began to roll. Defoe raced the ball into the area to go one on one with Lloyd Doyley and Hossam Ghaly struck a perfect cross for Mido who just failed to connect in the box when he should have done better.

After the break Tottenham were slow to start again, with Mido once more missing a header from Tom Huddlestone's free-kick. Then came the 'freak' 95-yard goal from Robinson, a turnaround after the 'freak' divots episode in the England game against Croatia last October.

'I'll try not to mention it in England training this week,' said Robinson. Foster, at fault through a mix-up with his central defender, was left bamboozled. Rattled, he then spilled Huddlestone's shot and was lucky Mido mis-hit the follow-up. With five minutes to go, Tottenham sealed victory as Defoe played a neat pass to Lennon and Ghaly finished with a curling ball past Foster.

Substitute Darius Henderson reduced the deficit with a late goal - Watford's first shot on target - but by then there was no changing the result.

Aidy Boothroyd typically put a positive spin on Foster's mishap. 'It was England's current number one against England's future number one,' he said. But with three league wins this season, Watford will be unlikely to escape relegation.

Jol was critical of his side's 'slow start', but praised his team's stamina through a congested fixture period. 'We managed to win seven of our last eight games now. I think we're on a great run,' he said.

Whether Tottenham can sustain the momentum, though, and across three competitions, will be the point of query.